42pc of Afghans lack access to clean drinking water

KABUL (Pajhwok): Participants of a three-day conference on sanitation on Tuesday said 42 percent of Afghans lacked access to clean drinking water and 19 percent to public toilets.

‘The First Sanitation Conference in Afghanistan’ launched here on Tuesday was attended by officials from the rural rehabilitation, public health, education and urban development ministries, representatives from UNICEF, embassies in Kabul, the United Nations (UN), civil society and nongovernmental organs.

Speaking on the occasion, Rural Rehabilitation and Development Minister Nasir Ahmad Durrani said a Central Statistics Organization (CSO) assessment in 1393 solar year showed only 58 percent of Afghans had access to potable water.

He said 81 percent of people in rural areas and 19 percent people in total defecated in public areas due to the lack of public toilet facilities.

He said his ministry and other organs concerned were taking part in the conference to assess a roadmap for solutions to the current problems until 2025.

The minister said public awareness programs about cleanliness would be made part of the ministry’s plan to be implemented until 2025.

Public Health Minister Firozuddin Firoz called lack of access to clean water and public toilets as major problems of people and said malnutrition, microbial diseases particularly diarrhea had direct connection with the shortage of clean potable water.

He said water-borne diseases caused 6.2 percent deaths among children under the age of five years.

Firoz said 41 percent of Afghans suffered from malnutrition that caused short stature in people.

Resolving these problems needed joint cooperation and the National Citizen Charter (NCC) plan of the government was aimed at overcoming the existing problems, he said.